Page 8 of Do Me
Londyn chuckled. “That would be nice.”
“I agree,” Shawn said.
“Do you have a space to house the hardware?”
Shawn drummed his fingers on the table. “There are a couple of smaller offices that might work. Would you like to see them?”
Braxton stood. “Yes. I’d also like to see where you want to place the other computers.” He followed them first to the empty rooms, the receptionist area, and finally through each office space. It wasn’t until they’d stopped to talk to the administrative assistant that he made the connection that she had been the coworker Londyn mentioned, and his cousin’s mother-in-law. With so many people attending the wedding and him trying to avoid his mother, Braxton never had a chance to meet the woman, so she didn’t recognize him. They ended in Londyn’s office. He scanned the area that held the same dark wood desk, a pair of chairs and beige loveseat as in the other offices. However, she had decorated hers with accents in varying shades of purple. A couple of plants rested on end tables and several framed certificates and degrees hung on her wall. He noticed the date on her doctorate degree and put her age somewhere in the mid-thirties.
The administrative assistant knocked on the open door. “I’m sorry to interrupt. Shawn, you have a phone call.”
“Thanks, Corinne.” Shawn turned toward Braxton. “Mr. Harper, I’m sure Dr. Grant can answer any questions you might have. If you’ll excuse me.”
“I’ll most likely need to schedule another meeting to discuss the network design and get your approval before we install it.”
“That’s fine. Will next Friday morning at eleven work? I have something that can’t be canceled in the afternoon.”
Braxton opened his iPad and checked his calendar. “Yes.” He added the appointment.
“Londyn?”
“I’ll have to check my schedule, but I think I can be there.”
Shawn nodded. “Thanks for coming, Mr. Harper. I’ll see you then.”
Now that Braxton had concluded his business for the day, he could shift into personal mode. He waited until both the doctor and the assistant left, then said to Londyn, “Any chance I might get you to return that favor?”
A smile blossomed on her face. “I wasn’t sure you remembered me.”
He wanted to tell her that he’d seen her face in his dreams at night and that she’d invaded his thoughts during the day. “I remember everything about you, Londyn. Or should I call you Dr. Grant?”
“Londyn is fine.”
“Still waiting on an answer, though?”
“To what?”
Braxton chuckled. “Returning the favor.”
“You’re asking me to go dancing?”
He shrugged. “It doesn’t have to be dancing. We could go out to dinner, see a movie, or both. Or we could do something totally different. I’d just like to take you out and get to know you.”
Londyn nibbled her bottom lip, angled her head thoughtfully, but didn’t answer for several seconds. “May I ask you a question first?”
“Sure.”
“When you first arrived, you barely acknowledged me. Why?”
He studied her briefly, seeing a glimpse of vulnerability that hadn’t been there before. The confidence she’d exuded at the wedding was one of the things that drew him and now she’d piqued his curiosity even more. “One, because my first priority in this office is business. Two, I respect your privacy. These people are your colleagues and I didn’t want to assume you’d mentioned anything about us.”
Finally, she said, “Okay. It’s a date.”
Braxton let out the breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding. He didn’t realize how much he wanted her to say yes. “If you’ll give me your phone number, I’ll call you tonight and we can discuss it. If you’re available.”
She rounded her desk, picked up a card and wrote on the back. “This is my cell number, and any time after seven is good.”
Smiling, he accepted the card and tucked it in the breast pocket of his suitcoat.I won’t have to call Aunt Barbara after all.His gaze dropped to the gloss-slicked lips she had a habit of nibbling on and he wanted to do the same. He took a step toward her, then stopped short, reminding himself that this was not the place nor the time. “I’ll talk to you later.”
